Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, May 19, 2019 – At the invitation of the rector of the Instituto Tecnológico de Las Américas (ITLA), Ing. José Armando Tavarez, and Dr. David Julien, Executive Director of the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (OUI-IOHE), joins the regional assembly of the Caribbean of the IOHE.
This meeting was the result of reaffirming relations that united the IOHE and the ITLA and allowed its rector, José Armando Tavarez, the new vice-president elect of the Caribbean region, to hold his first Regional Assembly. This last encounter allowed for the ratification of a regional action plan proposed by the ITLA in addition to constitution the regional council in support of the vice-president who will count on the help of the regional councillors, representing different nations making up the Caribbean:
- Cuba : Universidad de Oriente
- Haïti : Queensland University
- Puerto Rico : Caribbean University
- Venezuela : Universidad Simon Bolivar
“The presence of these establishments hailing from many nations in this general assembly today demonstrates the leadership of rector José Armando Tavarez as Vice-President of the Caribbean and the dynamic nature of this region in regards to higher education, which has been a key factor in the choice of ITLA to host the fifth program of the OUI, the Inter-American Space for Higher Technical and Technological Education (EIESTEC)”, commented Dr. David Julien, Executive Director of the IOHE.
The regional members of the Caribbean region combined a total of 50 institutions and associations, hailing from eight nations (Cuba, Guyana, French Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela). Unity and networkis what the IOHE offers its members, permitting the Caribbean region to further strengthen its common strategies of development in internationalization of higher education.
The participants in this assembly were able to benefit from the presence of Prof. Hans de Wit, director of the Center for International Higher Education from Boston College, who gave a lecture on the topic of “Internationalization of Higher Education and global learning: Implications, challenges and opportunities for technological institutions in the Caribbean”. A workshop was organized for the following day, which laid the foundation for a research project conducted jointly by the ITLA and Boston College in the goals of establishing a diagnosis of the state of internationalization of higher education in the technical and vocational sector, in order to develop a strategy to help benefit all members.
This conference and workshop had great success, bringing together around 50 participants, and allowed Prof. Hans de Wit to address multiple topics that will also be at the center of the upcoming Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAEI – CAIE), which will be held from October 23 through October 25 in Bogota, Colombia.
Prof. De Wit recalled the growing importance of internationalization at all levels within Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and their impact on not only the institutions themselves, but also on the regions where they are located and their respective populations.
He concluded by echoing the upcoming theme of the CAIE, “Hubs of Knowledge and Innovation: Synergies for development”, and emphasized the importance of the role of the IOHE and specifically of EIESTEC in this ecosystem as an example of an Inter-American leader and strategic ally of HEIs with the aim of consolidating their role as drivers of social change, overcoming social inequalities, and promoting knowledge for all of society.